Teacher Carl 10/11/22 Teacher Carl 10/11/22

Father's birthday and death.

This is my father. This picture was taken in April of 2018 when Destiny and I visited him on Spring Break vacation, and went to church with him.

His birthday was on Thursday, September 29th, the day before my older daughter's 25th birthday. He called to wish her a happy birthday, and we got to talk to him and wish him a happy birthday. He told us how he had not been doing too well during the past few weeks. He had been in the hospital on two different occasions for separate issues, and they had adjusted his medications, also, but said he was doing better.

He lives two hours drive away, and is very involved with his step-family, church family, and friends. And, because we stay busy with our lives, we don't see each other as often as we would like.

On Sunday, October 2nd, three days after he called, he collapsed onto the floor at his home. The ambulance was called, and on the way to the hospital, his heart stopped three times. They put him on life support, and one of his two sisters was called, who lives in Louisiana, about four hours drive away. She called me on Monday to let me know that she was on the way to the hospital where he was.

My father had made arrangements with his sister that if anything happened to him, that she would have the power to make decisions for him, and made sure that he was not to be kept on life support.

When she arrived at the hospital, she had them turn off the life support, and when his heart stopped again, they were not to try to revive him. He died on Monday, October 3rd.

My father had already made preparations for his death; who would handle the funeral, where it would be, who would officiate, what songs would be sung, and even where he would be buried; with his second wife, who had died in early 2013.

The funeral was held on Monday, October 10th, a week after he died.

This was not an easy time for me, especially since my step-father, the man who raised and provided for me, had died only about 18 months earlier.

There were not a lot of people at the funeral, family, step-family, and some friends and church members.

I got up and spoke:

I am Carl's only biological child, although he was father to his second wife's children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. I had a step-father who raised me, and I am proud to say he was my dad, but Carl was my father. Now, I have only God the Father, Abba, in heaven. Carl knew, accepted, loved, and served God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. He would wake every morning to study the Word of God from the Bible, and speak directly to God through prayer. He often expressed to me when we spoke, how the world we live in is filled with sin. He would pray for not only himself, in fact he was very humble in this aspect, but he would pray for his family and his friends. Carl was ready to join God in heaven, but knew that until God was ready for him, Carl would continue to serve God here on earth. He continued to teach about God from the Bible, and share. Carl always wanted for those around him to know God's love and joy and to know Jesus Christ as their personal savior, just as he did. As with everything in life, when it is no longer possible, I regret not spending more time with him, but I am so thankful for the time that we did spend together, because, even though he did not raise me, he was my father, and had a great impact on my life. I not only look, and act very much like him, but I too believe in Christ. It is too late for me to spend more time with Carl. And the time is coming when it will be too late for many people to accept Jesus into their lives. Don't wait. When God's Son returns, there will be no time for regrets.

This is the U.S. Air Force Honor Guard, because my father served in and retired from the U.S. Air Force.

David was his step-grandson, who he loved, mentored, and cherished, so it was only fitting that my father chose him to receive the flag.

Teacher Carl 11/11/21 Teacher Carl 11/11/21

Veterans Day

November 11th is Veterans Day, a day when we remember and recognize all men and women who are or have served in the United States military.

This is a painting of my mother and father from when they married.

He retired from the United States Air Force.

This is a photo of my mother's father, who was in the United States Seabees during WW2.

This is my stepbrother when he was in the United States Army.

This is me when I was in the United States Air Force.

My stepfather, who died in April this year, retired from the United States Air Force.

Teacher Carl 12/26/20 Teacher Carl 12/26/20

Christmas Prayer

Yahweh, Great and Mighty Father in Heaven, Provider, Lord and Master of all, hear my prayer.

I give thanks to you for bringing to us light and hope through Your Son, Jesus Christ.

It is only by Your mercy, His Love, and our faith that we can approach You.

May we continue to recognize You in our lives, and listen to Your guidance.

May we be good servants to You, and good witnesses of Your Love.

I pray now for the world, the world You created, and the people, Your children.

In this last year, we have suffered greatly. Sin of all forms have plagued us.

I pray that You will show us Your Mercy, and deliver us from all that tries to prevent us from seeing You and Your Love.

I pray that Your Will be done, and that it will strengthen us, unite us, and draw us nearer to You.

I pray for our nation Lord. We have been torn apart, selfish, and foolish.

Help us to see the errors of our ways. And I pray for forgiveness for our many sins.

Lord God Almighty, I also pray for my family, and our friends. Continue to be with us as we struggle in this world. Lift us up when we fall. Strengthen us when we are weak. Carry us when we think we can no longer continue. Remind us of Your Love for us. Help us to see Your Presence in our lives.

Father, I pray now for my mother. Thank you so very much for providing me with such a kind, caring, and wise mother. She has always been a good example of Your Love, even when sometimes I didn’t deserve it. Just as You always love us.

Yahweh, I also pray for Gil. When I fell, he picked me up. When I wandered, he showed me the way. When I was in error, he corrected me. When I did not know, he taught me. He has been an example of Your Love, by being Your servant.

God the Father, I give thanks and praise to You for my children. They have been a blessing that has sustained me. I have tried to do my best to raise them and care for them as You do us. I have learned so much being a father to my children about what I should be like as one of Your children. I pray that You will always be with them, in good and bad.

Merciful and Mighty Lord, I also pray for my grandson. He is as innocent as Your Son, Jesus was when He was born into this world. Just as Jesus had You watching over Him, I pray that You will watch over my grandson, and see to his needs according to Your will.

Finally Yahweh, I pray for myself, that You will forgive me, protect me, and guide me. Give me the knowledge and opportunity to be the kind of child that makes You happy. I return Your Love.

Amen.

Teacher Carl 11/29/19 Teacher Carl 11/29/19

Thanksgiving 2019

Wikipedia describes Thanksgiving as: 'Thanksgiving Day is a national holiday celebrated on various dates in the United States, Canada, some of the Caribbean islands, and Liberia. It began as a day of giving thanks and sacrifice for the blessing of the harvest and of the preceding year. Similarly named festival holidays occur in Germany and Japan. Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States and Brazil, and around the same part of the year in other places. Although Thanksgiving has historical roots in religious and cultural traditions, it has long been celebrated as a secular holiday as well.'

This year, my father drove two hours from near our state capitol, where he lives, to share Thanksgiving with my older daughter, her boyfriend, and myself. The rest of the family went to Missouri to have Thanksgiving with other family that could not make the long trip here this year.

We had a very nice visit with my father, as well as some wonderful food.

broccoli rice cheese casserole

deviled eggs

green beans casserole

ham

mashed potatoes and gravy

pumpkin pie

rolls

sweet potato pie

Teacher Carl 10/2/18 Teacher Carl 10/2/18

Birthday lesson.

This past weekend, I went to Little Rock with my older daughter to see and have lunch with my father on his birthday.

The restaurant we were going to go to didn't serve for lunch what my daughter wanted to eat, so we chose a different restaurant and told my father to meet us there instead.

We arrived at the restaurant and he wasn't there, so we waited. I tried calling him, but he wasn't answering, because he had left his cell phone at home.

After waiting for 45 minutes, we guessed that he went to the same restaurant, but at a different location, since this was a restaurant chain with at least four or five locations in the city, so we went ahead and ate without him.

My daughter's birthday is the day after my father's birthday, and she wanted to go to a shopping mall. We left the restaurant, and drove to towards the mall.

Before we arrived at the mall, the stopped working in the middle of an intersection. We had to push the car into a parking lot. I took a look under the hood, and discovered the belt that works everything had come off, because some bolts had broke.

Now at this point, different people would handle the situation in different ways. Some might panic, and not know what to do. Some would call for a tow or a mechanic. Some could try to fix it themselves if they knew how. I knew how, but I felt the easiest would be to call a mechanic. I later learned that this was the wrong decision.

The mechanic came about an hour later, and said he could repair it. Four hours later, he told me that he had to order the correct size bolts, and that they would not be in until the morning. He said he would be back then to repair the car.

Now, for this next part, I know there are many people that would tell me that what I did next was a big mistake, and I agree. My daughter had also brought her boyfriend, and her boyfriend's brother with us, so I called my mother to drive two hours from our home to come get all of them.

In the meantime, my father had returned to his house and called me. He agreed to come get me, and let me stay overnight with him, since he lived not too far away, so I could get the car the next day when it was fixed, and drive it home.

I wanted to meet the mechanic the next day after he was finished with the car, and I would pay him then. Since I was going to stay overnight with my father, I decided to go to church with him the next morning. What happened next is the part where most people will disagree with what I did next.

The mechanic said he could fix the car in the morning while I was at church with my father, and if I paid him in full now, he would leave the keys with me, and I could pick the car up at anytime. He seemed like an honest guy, so I agreed.

The next day, after church, we went to check on the car. It was still sitting there just as I had left it. I contacted the mechanic, who told me the bolts he ordered at the parts store had not come in yet, and that it would be later.

We waited three more hours, and then I took matters into my own hands. I went to the parts store, and found some bolts that would work. I bought an inexpensive tool set, along with the parts I needed, including a new belt for the car. I borrowed a special tool I knew I would need to install the belt. And then I went back to the car and fixed it myself in only about an hours time.

If I had done this yesterday, it would have only cost me $45, and would have been fixed in an hour, instead of staying overnight.

That's not the main lesson learned. The main lesson isn't about the money. It's not about the time. It's not about what who was right or wrong. The main lesson came from what I didn't do after the car broke, and before I even made a decision on what to do.

When I went to church with my father that morning after the car broke, I learned that God wants us to talk with Him. He wants us to not only pray, but to simply communicate with Him. God still wants us to bring our problems to Him, but He also wants us to ask for advice. And then, after asking for advice, we should listed to what He has to tell us. If we regularly talk with God, and read the Bible, God will communicate back with us through the Holy Spirit.

The main lesson to learn here, is that I should have stopped after the car broke, and talked with God to ask him what I should do. He might have told me to fix it myself. Or, he might have told me to call the mechanic anyway, since that course of action led to me being able to stay overnight with my father and spend some time with him, including going to church together.

As a believer in God and that He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to atone for our sins, we not only have the opportunity to communicate directly with God, but we have an obligation to do so on a regular basis. God is with us always, whether we choose to acknowledge Him or not. And He cares for us with great love. He is the perfect father, teacher, lord, and master.

Teacher Carl 4/22/18 Teacher Carl 4/22/18